Prematurity occurs in 7-10% of births in the United States and is associated with neonatal deaths and long term developmental disabilities. Attempts to inhibit premature labor are generally considered to be contraindicated when premature rupture of the membranes has occurred. Premature labor is stressful and anxiety producing for laboring woman and this maternal anxiety may potentiate complications associated with prematurity. Reduction of anxiety has been found to have beneficial effects in a variety of treatment contexts including labor. Anxiety reductin, withthe concomitant reduction of tension and pain, is associated with behavioral treatments which include a) providing information about procedures and sensations which the patient may reasonably expect; b) providing information about and support for the application of relaxation and patterned breathing techniques; and c) social support. Women in premature labor (N=100), between 28 and 36 weeks of gestation and less than 3 cm dilated upon admission to the hospital, with premature rupture of he membranes, will be randomly assigned to either an experimental group (N=50), for whom behavioral treatments known to reduce anxiety will be provided, or to a control group (N=50), for whom no supplementary behavioral treatment will be provided. The behavioral treatment will include information, relaxation and breathing training, and social support, which will be provided by a trained support person throughout labor. Patients will be excluded on the basis of several relevant obstetrical criteria. It is anticipated that the anxiety reducing treatment will positively effect a variety of outcome variables including: length of labor, use of analgesics, incidence of forceps use, incidence of Cesarean sections, incidence of fetal distress, incidence of meconium staining, Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes, time to onset of respiration, incidence of assignment to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, number of days spent in N.I.C.U., and maternal response to the baby.